Bale processors are devices used to spread the content of bales of forage in a controlled way for reasons such as mulching or feeding livestock. Examples of bale processors are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,708,911 to Patterson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,711,824 to Hruska, U.S. Pat. No. 6,578,784 to Lischynski et al., U.S. Pat. No. 6,886,763 to Lepage et al., U.S. Pat. No. 7,581,691 to Helmeczi et al. and Published U.S. Patent Application No. 2006/0086857 to Lepage et al., all of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
These bale processors typically have a cylindrical rotor rotor with hammers or flails pivotally attached thereto along the outside of the rotor. As the rotor rotates, the hammers/flails hit the outside of a bale, causing those outside portions of the bale to be separated from the bale and then thrown out of the bale processor to the ground.
Since bales of forage typically have twine or netwrap on the outside thereof for holding them together, this twine/netwrap is the first thing the hammers/flails hit when a new bale is introduced into the hopper of a bale processor. But instead of throwing all of the twine/netwrap out of the bale processor, a significant amount of the twine/netwrap wraps around the rotor and stays there between adjacent hammers/flails. The more the twine/netwrap builds up on the rotor, the less effective the hammers/flails are in removing forage from the outside of the bale.
This problem of the twine/netwrap was recognized in U.S. Pat. No. 6,886,763 to Lepage et al and was dealt with by periodically using a specially designed spear shaped knife to cut the twine/netwrap from the rotor. While this is one way to deal with the problem, it requires stopping/starting and manual labor to use the knife to clean the rotor.
Accordingly, a more efficient and automatic method and apparatus for preventing twine/netwrap from building up on the rotor of a bale processor is needed.
Elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions and/or relative positioning of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various embodiments of the present invention. Also, common but well-understood elements that are useful or necessary in a commercially feasible embodiment are often not depicted in order to facilitate a less obstructed view of these various embodiments of the present invention. Certain actions and/or steps may be described or depicted in a particular order of occurrence while those skilled in the art will understand that such specificity with respect to sequence is not actually required. The terms and expressions used herein have the ordinary technical meaning as is accorded to such terms and expressions by persons skilled in the technical field as set forth above except where different specific meanings have otherwise been set forth herein.